A Woman's Love
by ThnksFrThMmrs87
Summary: The love of one woman. The first has found it, the second is determined to get it back, and the third must deal with the reality that he may have allowed it to be ripped from his arms forever.
1. I Don't Want To Share

Disclaimer-- I don't own the characters of CSI:NY and the title comes from a song by Alan Jackson

Sheldon Hawkes didn't really get pissed; and when he did get pissed he most certainly didn't get so pissed that he threw punches. So when their colleague's first connected hard with a wall outside the Crime Lab, Danny and Flack shared a confused look.

"You okay, Doc?" Flack question.

Hawkes turned from the wall, shaking his hand and sending a few drops of blood scattering. "I need a drink," he told him.

Danny nodded, understanding the feeling completely. "You off duty?"

"Yeah, you?"

Both Danny and Flack nodded, and the former looked at his friends with a smile. "Then what are we waiting for? Grab your stuff and let's go."

A couple hours later they were all pleasantly buzzed but Sheldon had yet to tell them what exactly had happened to make him take out his aggression on a brick wall. Before long discussion turned to women, as it was wont to do, and Danny somehow came to the conclusion that they really needed to find Hawkes a girl.

After he shot down the suggestion of a fourth woman in the bar, Danny let out an exasperated sigh. "That's it, whatever's got you so aggravated has to be a woman, because that last girl was smokin' hot. Not to mention she checked you out on her way in here."

"I don't need a woman Danny."

"Because you've already got one and that's the problem?" Flack asked.

Sheldon saluted the detective with his drink. "Got it in one."

Danny's attention turned rapidly from the waitress who'd been taking his order back to the conversation at hand. "Whoa, who's the woman Doc?"

"It's not important anymore," he told him.

"What happened?" Don questioned. Having very recently heard a particular detective bitch about her stubborn ass now ex-boyfriend, he had a pretty good idea of who Hawkes was talking about.

He shook his head, leaning back in his chair and taking a pull from his drink. Whatever happened it had him completely out of sorts. "I got pissed, made some comments that were completely out of line, she dumped my ass. End of story."

"Doesn't seem like it's the end of the story," Danny commented. "If you're this torn up by it and you won't even look at another woman, it's not the end of the story."

Hawkes managed to hold back a comment about the pot and the kettle, but just barely. "Maybe none of them are my type."

"You have a type?"

He nodded, and it was clear there was only one face in his head. "I have a type."

"All men have a type," Don told Danny. "Every last one of us."

"My only type is Montana," he said more to himself than anyone else.

Now it was time for Flack and Hawkes to share a concerned look. Danny and Lindsay were still rocky at best, and though he felt like a complete bastard and had all but begged her to take him back Lindsay had yet to buy it; and rightfully so after what Danny had done. Flack knew that Dan would just have to prove to Linds how much he cared, but for the moment he and Hawkes just left it alone.

"You say everyone has a type, so what's yours Flack?" Sheldon asked.

It was pretty damn clear that Flack only had one woman on his mind as well, if his grin was any indication. That was news to both Danny and Hawkes, who listened intently as he spoke. "Tall, dark hair, light eyes, brains til' kingdom come. Someone dedicated and driven with a sense of humor and a smart ass streak to match; fearless and gorgeous inside and out."

"I hope you know you sound like you just quoted a romance novel," Danny told his friend with a snort.

"Sounds an awful lot like someone we know," Hawkes commented, a smile forming on his face.

"Picked up on that too huh?" Danny questioned.

Flack simply watched them with a grin on his face. "I don't know what you two are talking about." He pulled out his wallet and dropped a couple of bills on the table. "That should cover me, I'm out of here."

"Someone waiting for ya Flack?"

"With any luck, Danno." He turned to Hawkes before he left. "I've got a friend from the office whose boyfriend pulled the same thing you did," he told him. "She told me all that she wants is for him to trust her a bit more and try to get past where they've both been and try to look forward."

Hawkes nodded in understanding. "Thanks."

Danny's gaze darted between Hawkes and Flack's retreating back. "What the hell was that?"

"That was the answer to my problems."

When Stella heard knocking on her door at midnight she knew it could only be one person. Deciding a robe would be a good idea on the off chance it wasn't who she thought it was, she pulled one on and headed for the door.

When she found Don leaning against the doorframe she couldn't help but smile. "Lindsay said Hawkes mentioned you guys were headed out for drinks after he picked up his stuff. You drunk?"

He shook his head. "Tipsy at best."

"Even so, if you got behind the wheel to get here you're not putting a foot in here," she told him.

Don stepped into the room, delighted when she smiled again. "That's the beauty of living in a city with so many cabs," he responded.

"Gotta love it."

He hummed some sort of agreement before pushing the door closed with his foot and taking her into his arms. Turning to press her back to the door, he untied her robe so he could slip his hands under her tank top to press against her skin. "We were talking about types."

"Really?" she questioned. "And is the jig up?"

"They have an idea. I pretended I didn't know what they're talking about; I don't want to share you."

Stella reached up to touch his cheek, feeling an arrow of heat when he turned his head to kiss her palm. "You're being cautious because of me, and I appreciate it but you don't have to. I want people to know about this Don."

His hands moved to hers, lacing their fingers together. "Caution is part of it Stell, but I wasn't being a smart ass. I waited for a long time for you to be in my life this way; I want some time to have you all to myself before we let everyone else in."

"You really are a ridiculously sweet man, you know that right?" she asked.

"Well maybe, but don't let it get out; all those idiots on the streets would think I've gone soft," he teased.

Stella turned her mouth up to welcome a kiss, laughing when they pulled back. "Is that such a problem?"

He was holding the most beautiful woman he had even known in his arms and she was looking up at him with love and trust in her eyes. As he bent down to bring his mouth to hers again he decided that the answer was a resounding no. It really wasn't a problem at all.

Note From The Author-- Okay, so this was originally supposed to be part of Moments. But then I got into it and it wouldn't let me go so there will be three, maybe four chapters; one with a specific focus on each of the guys and probably one more general wrap up.


	2. I'm An Idiot

Note From The Author-- Here's the next chapter; yay Hawkes! So here's the thing; Flack very clearly calls Angell Jess in one episode, but then in the books she's Jen, so I guess we all just get to pick her name :) I'm going to stick with Jen :) Enjoy!

Hawkes left Danny at the bar not long after Flack took off. He knew that Messer could use the extra time to think on his own; he also knew there was only one place he needed to be that night, and it wasn't drowning his sorrows with Danny. As he descended into the nearest subway station there was no doubt in his mind at which stop he would be getting off. Even so, the ride seemed to drag on forever, and when the doors opened up he almost sprinted up the stairs.

It didn't take him long to make it to her place, but he paused before he knocked. It was wise to take a moment to think before he did; unfortunately she had seen him walk up through the window and she beat him to the punch when she opened the door. When she did he was still standing there with his hands in his pocket.

"You're the last person I expected to see here tonight."

Sheldon shook his head. "Can I come in Jen?"

It was painfully clear that she wanted nothing more to shut the door in his face; she was exhausted and hurt, but as bad as it felt, she knew she should at least consider it. "Depends; have you managed to pull your head out of your ass yet?" she questioned.

"I'm working on that right now actually."

Without saying a word she turned her back on him and walked back into the apartment, leaving the door open so he could follow. After closing the door he followed her path through the hall and eventually found her curled up in one corner of her couch wrapped up in a blanket with a steaming mug in her hands.

Hawkes couldn't help but smile. "Hot chocolate with marshmallows?" he asked.

"It's been a long week," Angell told him, meeting his eyes straight on.

He sat down on the opposite end of the couch with a sigh. "Would it help if I said I'm a complete idiot?"

She shook her head. "No, I actually managed to figure that one out on my own." There was a pregnant pause before she spoke again. "Why are you here Sheldon?"

"Because I was a stupid paranoid asshole and I hurt you because of it."

"You forgot jealous," she told him.

Hawkes nodded. "That too."

Neither was quite sure what to say, so for a moment they just sat there, the murmur of the TV she'd turned down in the background. Angell didn't want to be the first to speak, but everything that had been eating at her the past few days seemed to just bubble to the surface. "You accused me of sleeping with Don," she said flatly.

"I know, and I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am for that."

"For Christ's sake Sheldon he's with Stella! He has been for months!" Jen cried.

He shook his head. "It shouldn't surprise me that you figured that out before the rest of us," he commented.

"He's been in love with her for years; you don't have to be that perceptive to pick up on what's got him so thrilled lately."

"I didn't know until tonight Jen, I swear that."

She looked down at her chocolate for a moment, taking a deep breath; and when she looked up it just about tore him in half to see the tears shining there. "Damn it Sheldon you didn't ask; I think that's what bothers me the most. You didn't ask me if Don and I were ever involved, you didn't just pose the question. You made it an accusation, you practically indicted the two of us for flirting with each other and you made my entire friendship with him seem dirty or wrong somehow; I'm not sure if I can forgive you for that."

Hawkes scooted closer, almost flinching when she pulled her hand back as he reached for her. "Jen listen to me; I screwed up. I listened to some stupid officer gossip and it pissed me off, thinking that the two of you had been together."

"Why Sheldon? We're both healthy adults and for God's sake I'm almost thirty. Did you honestly think I had never been with anyone else?"

"No, I didn't, and I never cared; but for some reason the thought that Flack was on your list sent me over the edge."

"So why didn't you just ask?" Jen questioned.

He sighed. "Haven't we already had the conversation about me being an ass?"

It seemed she couldn't help but smile at that. "Yes, we did have that conversation actually."

"Bottom line?" Jen nodded to him and he reached out to take her hand. "Jealousy doesn't sit well on me; actually it sits like hell. When I thought that you and Flack had been together I literally wanted to punch him. You'll notice if you look closely at my hand that I decided to take out that frustration on a wall instead. Anyway, I hated thinking that he…" he trailed off, blowing out a breath of frustration. "I don't know how to explain it, but it made me angry, and I didn't think before I opened my mouth and ended up inserting my foot."

"I noticed that," she said sarcastically.

"I talked to Flack tonight and right after he basically told Danny and me he was with Stella he told me that all you wanted was a little trust. If you're willing to overlook the fact that I acted like a jealous idiot I'd really like to just move on from where we've both been on our own and start looking to where we could go with each other," Sheldon told her.

"No more jealousy?"

"Well you're a gorgeous intelligent woman and I can't guarantee that I won't want to put the beat down on every dumb idiot who whistles or checks out your ass, but I'm going to make a total effort to remember that they aren't what really matters."

Jen nodded. "I want to be with you Sheldon, but I'm warning you right now that if you ever accuse me of something like that or say something to cheapen my friendships again I will walk; no matter how much I want you."

He reached out to brush a strand of hair from her face, leaning in as he did to kiss her. When he pulled back he smiled. "I won't fault you for that, but I'll do everything in my power to make sure you don't have to."

Her own smile was radiant as she spread out the blanket to welcome him under its warmth with her. "Hot chocolate?" she asked as he tucked his arm around her.

Hawkes considered it for a minute, then her head dropped to his shoulder and he smiled. "No, I think I'm good here."


	3. I'll Do Anything

Note From The Author-- And now we have Danny's side of the story. Enjoy :)

Sitting alone at the bar, Danny tried to fight off the oppressive emotions that were weighing on him. Flack evidently had Stella to go home to, and if Hawkes could fix things he would clearly have Angell; so where the hell did that leave him?

He had screwed up the best thing in his life, and he didn't know what to do about it. Try as he might, he hadn't been able to convince Lindsay of his feelings, and maybe he didn't deserve to. Danny hadn't thought before turning to Rikki, he had simply taken the comfort where it was offered; and if he had really and truly ruined things for good with Lindsay because of that he would never forgive himself.

Inaction was driving him crazy, and he decided to take a cue from Hawkes. Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed the numbers that were so familiar to him. "Hey Lindsay," he greeted her, his voice soft. "I know it's late, but I was wondering if we could talk. Please, Montana."

He wasn't ashamed to resort to begging.

"Someplace neutral, not my place or yours, okay? Okay; I'll be there in twenty minutes."

The decision to meet in Times Square made sense; it was loud and bright, and even at such a late hour they would be surrounded by people, preventing the discussion from getting too intense and giving them both an easy out if they felt they needed it. Standing in front of one of the almost obscenely bright video screens, Lindsay wondered how in the world it was possible to feel so alone with so many people standing around.

"I wasn't sure you'd show up," Danny said, as quietly as he could in the city's hustle and bustle.

She turned to face him, hugging her arms close to her body. "I wasn't sure I would either."

"Well I'm glad you did."

For a moment they simply stood there, feeling suspended without a clue where to go next. Then Lindsay shook her head. "Danny, why are we here? We've been over and over everything, and I'm not going to change my mind anytime soon."

Danny wanted to step closer, but he knew it wouldn't be welcome. Instead he did his best to ensure that everything he was feeling showed in his eyes. "We have been over and over this, so many times. But there are some things I haven't made clear."

"Like what?" she whispered.

"I fucked up Lindsay. All I can do is hope that I've completely owned up to the fact that I really and truly fucked up."

She nodded. "You have."

He took a deep breath. "Okay, that's good. But here's the thing; what I haven't made clear is that you're it for me Montana. I'm completely and totally in love with you, and I can't believe I was stupid enough to let anything come between us, no matter how I was feeling."

"Danny."

"Do me a favor and just let me get this out. I want you to know that I will do whatever it takes to get you back in my life, because I've realized that if I can't have you I don't want anyone else."

There were tears rolling down her face. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Not to make it hard for you; anything but that. I just want you to know that whatever it takes, I'm there; and if nothing else, maybe we can find a way to be friends again, because I'd rather have you have you as my partner and friend than lose you completely. I just wanted to make that clear, Montana."

Lindsay managed to find her voice as she nodded. "It's clear."

"Good." He took a chance and stepped forward to press a light kiss to her cheek. "I'll see you at work Lindsay."

He left her feeling stunned, and as she watched him walk away she felt the smallest glimmer of hope that perhaps, someday, they could find something together again.


	4. Cheers

Note From The Author-- And here we come to our end. Thanks so much for reading, and look for a new story in the incredibly near future. Like in the today near future :)

As Lindsay took a seat at the table that she and Angell were currently occupying, Stella couldn't help but smile. She seemed to remember Flack telling her about a gathering just over five months before at this very same bar; the members of that group months before were rather intimately connected to the members of this one.

"I'm glad you made it," Stella commented as Lindsay sat down. "I wasn't sure any of us were going to get out today."

"This case has been brutal," Angell agreed.

Lindsay smiled a bit sadly, raising her glass of water "Well here's to putting the responsible sociopath behind bars before anyone else died."

They could all raise a glass to that, and by the time the waitress made it to the table to take their order they were already laughing. After they had placed their order Angell reached across the table to take Stella's hand. "Now let's take a good look at the reason we all decided to come out and celebrate tonight."

Stella couldn't help but grin as Lindsay and Angell oohed and ahed over the ring that winked light from her left hand. "I'm sure it seems sudden, considering that we only let everyone know we were together five months ago, but…"

"It doesn't matter," Lindsay told her. "All that matters is that you're happy."

"And you're obviously deliriously happy," Jen told her.

She took her hand back with a smile, taking a sip from her wine. "You seem pretty deliriously happy yourself."

A blush wasn't something that the other two women were used to seeing on Jen Angell's face, but there it was nonetheless. "Things are good. Sheldon's just…" She breathed a contented sigh and shrugged. "He's just incredibly sweet, and considerate. Obviously he has his moments."

"Obviously," Lindsay snorted. "Don't they all?"

"Yes, they all do," Jen laughed. "Honestly, I'm just enjoying being with him. Wherever it's going…" She shrugged. "We'll see."

Usually this was the part where the last woman in the group would jump in and share the stories of her love life. Problem was that they all knew that Lindsay and Danny's relationship had been little better than rocky for a long time. Still, Stella and Jen both knew that there had been some progress, so Stella decided to bring it up anyway.

"So had anything happened with you and Danny?"

Lindsay took a deep breath before she spoke, but both other women were pleased to see that the haunted look which had been ever present in her eyes for so long was gone. "I don't really know what to say. He's been trying so hard to prove to me that I'm really what he wants."

"And do you believe him?" Jen asked.

She nodded. "More and more, I do. I won't lie and say that I'm not still hurt by what he did, but he's proven to me that he genuinely is horribly sorry about what happened. And what's more important is that he's proving that he really is a good man."

"I'm glad," Stella told her, patting the younger woman's hand. "You were both so miserably unhappy."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Well, we're certainly not all the way back to deliriously happy, mostly because we were only there for such a short time. What I can say is that we're not completely miserable anymore, and we're getting back to being friends again."

"Cheers to that," Angell said, raising her glass again.

The others both raised their glasses as well, and Stella looked around with a smile before she spoke. "And here's to the men in our lives finally realizing that what they want is what's right in front of them."


End file.
